overcharging

Zara may be one of the most fashion savvy retailers on the high street, but that doesn’t mean the brand is without its worries as the Spanish clothing giant is reportedly facing a $5 million lawsuit for allegedly manipulating its prices.

According to The Fashion Law, Zara is being sued by customer Devin Rose in California who claims that he and other Zara customers in the US have been overcharged as a result of the brand’s “deceptive pricing practices”.

The complaint states that Zara has made billions of dollars through the “classic bait and switch” practice of only tagging its clothing with euro prices – a procedure which Rose claims “lures” customers into making purchases.

In the lawsuit it is also claimed that once a customer reaches the till the products of choice are then sold “for a substantially higher amount in dollars” than conversion rates would suggest they should be.

Rose’s complaint is based on a personal experience he had earlier this summer at a particular Zara store in Sherman Oaks, California. He claims he was charged almost 60% more than he should have been for three shirts because of Zara’s conversion rate tactics.

A spokesperson for Zara in the United States told TFL that the retailer “vehemently denies any allegations [of] deceptive pricing practices”.